101 Things to Be Thankful for—Even If Some of These Things Happen Every Day

I'll be honest: At the beginning of last summer, I wasn't in a good place. I was heartbroken and exhausted, and routinely listening to Shania Twain's Come on Over album to make myself feel better. It wasn't pretty. Then two friends I hadn't seen in a decade invited me to go on a trip, having a somewhat of vague idea of my situation. "You can stay in your own room," one said, "Come whenever you want." I immediately thought of five excuses to get out of it, but I ended up saying yes anyway. And after three days of happily picking up where we left off, I returned home thinking I was exactly where I needed to be.

I should also be upfront and say that nothing immediately improved upon my return, but by actively pushing myself to practice more gratitude, things got better with time. Maybe it took an unplanned trip for me to reevaluate my perspective, but it's also taken months of daily reminders in average settings—like after a long day of work, in the middle of washing dishes, or while trying to exercise—to keep things going. That's why it's best to start now.

Mister Rogers was full of thought-provoking lines, but lately I've gravitated toward this one: "Nobody else can live the life you live." So ahead of Thanksgiving, here are 101 things to be thankful for so you can start practicing positive thinking, too. The truth is, there's always some beauty in life to uncover, and you're exactly where you need to be in order to find it.